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Monday, May 28, 2012

Fake It >> Lemonade, Simply

It also seems to be one of the fastest growing brands of refrigerated Lemonade in the markets.

It's price seems to be growing, too.

When I first tasted this delicious Lemonade four years ago a carafe cost about $1.99. Now, if I'm lucky and purchase it on sale, it is about $2.50 for a carafe.

Thankfully the Simply company has made this very simple to clone.

Here is how I did it: The second line on the back label reads "11% Lemon Juice" and the Sugar content per serving is listed as10%. The Ingredient List states that this Lemonade contains Pure Filtered Water, Natural Sugar, Lemon Juice, and Natural Flavors.

It becomes just a matter of doing the math: if I want One Gallon of Lemonade (which is equal to 128 fluid ounces), then I will need 14.08 ounces of Lemon Juice (128 X .11 = 14.08). This translates to 1-3/4 Cups plus 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice. I will also need 10% Sugar, which is 12.8 ounces and equals to 1-3/4 Cups Sugar, plus a teaspoon or two added at the end to adjust the sweetness to taste. Place the Lemon Juice and the Sugar in the one-gallon pitcher and fill with Water to the one-gallon mark. Stir well and serve cold.

A couple of things you may have noticed: one, my Lemonade is darker than the store-bought. I used my Meyer Lemons, which have a very sweet, but very dark juice. Two: I didn't need to add any 'Natural Flavors'. These 'flavors' happen to be what the citrus juice industry call "flavor packs" and are flavors added back to the pasteurised juices to replace the true flavors which are lost during the pasteurization process. This is why different brands of Orange Juice (which may use the same variety of oranges) taste different. Each company uses a slightly different 'flavor pack' and will vary the flavor of the finished product to suit the target market. Orange Juice, for instance, will taste different in South America than it does here in the USA, even though it may be made by the same manufacturer. If you want more information, google "Flavor Packs". It'll be enough to make you never want to buy Citrus juice again.

If you play around with converting this to use alternate sugar substitutes (Stevia, Agave, or something else) would you please leave me a comment and let me know what ratios/ammounts you used? I haven't taken the time to investigate these and would be interested in your input. Thanks!

Perfected by the Author in her own Test Kitchen. Approved by her Family. Enjoyed by You.